PHILADELPHIA — During an innocuous defensive slides drill, center Spencer Hawes tweaked his left knee and consequently cast a pall over the rest of the 76ers’ practice.

Then somebody gave Tony Wroten the ball.

While reporters only witnessed the 10-minute scrimmage at the end of Monday’s practice, Sixers coach Brett Brown said Wroten was as electric earlier in the day as he was in the 5-on-5 session. His defense was sound, his offensive intuition was crisp and his shooting touch from outside was on-point.

“Any time one of your better players goes down, it puts water on a practice,” Brown said. “Spencer will end up being fine — we’ll find out later — but then the gym got going and Tony Wroten resurrected the gym. All of a sudden, there was a spark in the gym with him and it became physical.

“Practice was flat when Spencer went down, then I thought it got going with Tony’s energy.”

The only thing that could slow down Wroten was a perimeter screen that he blindly ran into in the final minute of the scrimmage, roughing up the second-year guard’s right shoulder and taking him out for the rest of the afternoon.

The Sixers are looking for someone — anyone, really — who can score. Wroten may not be Brown’s first choice, as he didn’t run with the first team, but being the first choice off the bench is a role the second-year man is willing to accept.

“I’ll do whatever it takes, whatever my role is,” said Wroten, a 6-6, 205-pound guard. “Whether it’s coming off the bench or getting the start, I want to be the same person. I’m just trying to do whatever it takes to help the team win. I just bring the energy. I want to go at it every day in practice like it’s a game.”

The Sixers picked up Wroten from Memphis in exchange for next to nothing, sending the Grizzlies future draft considerations in the process. While Wroten, a left-handed shooter out of the University of Washington, doesn’t bring with him a bevy of court experience, he boasts something to which only two others (James Anderson and Jason Richardson) can lay claim: playing in a conference finals series or beyond.

Wroten wasn’t a regular contributor as a rookie last season with the Grizzlies, averaging only 2.5 points in 35 regular-season games, though that familiarity with the postseason isn’t something to be overlooked on a green training-camp roster that features 11 of 20 players who are either in their first or second season.

“It’s real different, because I came from a team that was a good team, a veteran team that made the Western Conference finals,” said Wroten, who’s making $1.16 million this season. “Now to start over with a young team, it’s different but it’s a great opportunity and I’m looking forward to it.”

Forward Royce White looked sharp in the scrimmage, playing for the second unit that not only outplayed the starters, but also outscored them.

White, who missed his rookie season while dealing with an anxiety disorder, said he’s returning to basketball shape. He said he played his career at Iowa State between 265 and 275 pounds. Monday, he weighed in at 264.

“I’m just getting back to the feel thing,” White said. “That feel thing comes with repetition, and I’ve been away for a while.”

Forward Lavoy Allen got a lot of run in the Sixers’ scrimmage, engaging in contact drills for the first time in training camp. He missed two days while battling a knee injury, something he picked up in an individual workout.

“I definitely felt a little rusty,” Allen said. “It’s always that way when you haven’t played 5-on-5 in a while. Running down the court, it’s going to take a couple days to get back in shape, but I’ll get there.”

NOTES: Hawes, Richardson, Kwame Brown and Tim Ohlbrecht were in attendance, but did not participate in the scrimmage. … Darius Morris, wearing a face-protecting mask after picking up a nose injury in voluntary workouts last week, looked adept shooting from beyond the arc. … Analyst and former coach Jeff Van Gundy attended practice, sitting with Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie.